Y ou can bend a knee to burgeoning rock gods, turn inquisitive eyes to the heavens and divine new friends or colleagues—and that’s just through Wednesday.

Monday, June 4Bent Knee, a band on the cusp of breakout success that seems to do whatever it likes whenever it likes and makes epic, inventive rock journeys look easy, comes to Cafe Nine (250 State St, New Haven; 203-789-8281) to headline the intimate club’s weekly Manic Mondays show. Opened by OWEL and Gatherers, the show is free with advance RSVP or $5 at the door. 8 p.m.

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Wednesday, June 6
The Grove (760 Chapel St, New Haven) hosts its next weekly Wine Down at 4 p.m. Offering “a selection of wines, sparkling beverages and Pellegrino… served alongside a light snack,” the idea is to foster networking—or, as organizers put it, “finding great people and sharing great ideas.” Helping that happen is a rather effective-sounding rule: “you cannot pour your own glass!”

Thursday, June 7Happy Hour in the Plaza, a summertime series of Thursday and Friday gatherings in Temple Plaza (between College Street to the west, Chapel Street to the north and Temple Street to the east), debuts from 4 to 7 p.m. Offering food and drink options for purchase from local establishments along with “games and live musicians,” the event is free to attend.

Friday, June 8
Johnson Flucker is Oscar Wilde in a 6:30 p.m. performance of one-man show Work Is the Curse of the Drinking Classes. Celebrating Wilde’s “life and literary legacy,” the performance—which isn’t quite one-man, in the sense that Flucker will be joined by Pat Rossiter and the Choir Company—is happening at Trinity Church on the Green (230 Temple St, New Haven), with regular tickets costing $25 in advance or $30 at the door.

At 7 p.m., Long Wharf Theatre (222 Sargent Dr, New Haven; 203-787-4282) is doing something it doesn’t often do: staging a play for one night only. “Based on the true stories of refugees resettled in New Haven by IRIS,” the play is called The American Unicorn, about “seven unlikely heroes [who] overcome unspeakable odds” and “defeat and evade monsters to come seek their own unicorn here in New Haven.” $20.

Saturday, June 9
A stream of prologue events over the past few months suddenly becomes a raging river as the 2018 International Festival of Arts & Ideas officially commences. Kicking off more than two full weeks of action, today’s itinerary features 18 listings, including, on the New Haven Green alone, a multidisciplinary dance show (noon; free), a “genuine strong woman” performing feats of strength (1 and 3 p.m.; free), live interactive theater (3 and 5 p.m.; free) and the 2018 festival’s first headline concert on the green (6 p.m.; free), featuring “Barbados-born, Berklee-educated saxophonist Elan Trotman and [the] Elm City’s own Rohn Lawrence” backed by the Rahsaan Langley Project.

Sunday, June 10
The third annual Westville One Day Giveaway—when Westville residents put stuff out in their yards for “a community tag sale where everything is free” and everyone is welcome—happens from noon to 5 p.m.

For about 90 minutes starting at 2 p.m., the Yale Center for British Art highlights the British Invasion with a free screening of A Hard Day’s Night (1964). “Considered one of the best rock ’n’ roll movies ever made, [the film] is a hilarious study of a ‘typical’ day in the life of the Beatles.”

Written and photographed by Dan Mims. Image depicts detail of the mainstage lighting array for the 2015 International Festival of Arts & Ideas. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations and prices before attending events.

About Dan Mims

Dan has worked for a couple of major media companies, but he likes Daily Nutmeg best. As DN’s editor, he writes, photographs, edits and otherwise shepherds ideas into fully realized feature stories, helped very much by a small team of dedicated contributors.